DURHAM -- Even as it piled up victories to start the season, Duke generally couldn’t be accused of being a fast starting team in many of its triumphs.

With the exception of their wins over Michigan and Washington, the Blue Devils generally took a bit to get warmed up and dispatch their opponents.

Playing its first game in 11 days, Duke wasted little time Friday night in snuffing out Western Michigan’s hope of an upset. The seventh-ranked Blue Devils (11-1) used an early 19-0 lead to build a substantial lead and cruise to a thorough 110-70 win over the Broncos (5-8) at Cameron Indoor Stadium.

CHARLOTTE -- Shortly after Terrell Manning put a black "Belk Bowl Champions" hat on his head to commemorate N.C. State's 31-24 bowl win over Louisville on Tuesday night, the junior linebacker started talking about next season.

Seven starters on each side of the ball, including defensive stars in Manning and cornerback David Amerson, and quarterback Mike Glennon, are scheduled to return for a Wolfpack team that won six of its final eight games to finish 8-5 in 2011.

“We’ve got a lot of good guys coming back, and we’ve got a big opening game with Tennessee, so we’ve got a lot to look forward to,” said Manning, who had an interception and five tackles against the Cardinals.

NEW YORK -- It wasn't an historic game for Duke at Madison Square Garden. It may not prove to be all that memorable, either.

The seventh-ranked Blue Devils squandered much of a big second-half lead Saturday but held on in the end to top the unranked Washington Huskies 86-80 in the Carquest Auto Parts Classic. Not exactly a clunker, but the play often was ragged for both teams, although smoother for both in the second half.

CHARLOTTE -- Clemson used a spectacular third quarter to outscore Virginia Tech 21-0 and capture the ACC football championship 38-10 before a record crowd of 73,675 at Bank of America Stadium.

The victory sends Clemson to the Orange Bowl, via the ACC’s automatic bid into a BCS game. It appears likely the Tigers (10-3) will be paired against West Virginia of the Big East when bids are awarded Sunday evening.

This will be Clemson’s first appearance in the Orange Bowl since the Tigers’ national championship in 1981

CHARLOTTE -- ACC commissioner John Swofford said today it’s “highly likely” the league will go to an 18-game schedule when Syracuse and Pittsburgh join the league.

 “One of the things as a conference that you want to do when you get bigger, in any sport, is to play as each as much as is reasonable and possible,’’ he said. “ So that’s something we’re looking at, to find the right balance, what makes the most sense there, for our programs, for our equity of competition, for our fans.”

He said the schools continue to discuss whether to have divisional alignments in basketball when the league expands to 14, “and I would anticipate that we’ll come to some conclusions on this after the first of the year,” perhaps early February. Syracuse and Pittsburgh will be involved in those discussions, he added.

Swofford also said that in initial discussions, the sense from the schools is that all 14 ACC teams should participate in the ACC tournament, although it hasn’t been determined how that will work.

Senior Cam Holland may have been the happiest player on UNC’s football team to hear last Sunday that Pittsburgh will leave the Big East for the ACC.

Holland, a center and one of the top offensive linemen in the ACC, is a Pittsburgh native and would have played for the Panthers had it gone down to his No. 2 choice in recruiting.

A full handful of stone-cold locks as ACC football games — not to even mention Hurricane Irene — quickly approach:
 
1.The Atlantic and Coastal divisions will be popularly referred to as the Atlantic Division and the Graveyard of the Atlantic Division.
Or maybe it’ll the Football Bowl Subdivision or the Football Court of Appeals Subdivision.

The Duke lacrosse saga that began in 2006 is an ongoing reminder that quick conclusions can be the epitome of a dangerous leap in sports.

With that in mind, far be it from me to say without reservation that Miami’s athletics program is on the verge of virtual devastation.

But if the NCAA eventually determines that this week's allegations of outrageous behavior by the school and its athletes are accurate, the ACC will forever rue the day that the Hurricanes only a few years ago were the centerpiece of expansion.

PINEHURST - In the most serious address to the media of his 15-year tenure, ACC commissioner John Swofford called today for reforms to a college athletic infrastructure that he said has lost the confidence of the public.

At the ACC football kickoff media event, Swofford told reporters in his yearly address that:

• NCAA rules and enforcement need to focus more on serious offenses, particularly involving third parties, and less on minor transgressions such as phone calls and text messages.
• Enforcement of NCAA rules needs to have consistent punishments from case to case and must take place expediently.
• Athletes’ scholarships should cover the full cost of attendance, rather than just tuition, room, board and books.
• The NCAA needs to consider having scholarships operate as multi-year deals rather than one-year agreements.

The first Heisman Trophy handicap lists for the 2011 college football season are out, and the ACC barely is represented.

That’s not surprising, of course.

The league’s top returning players have little national visibility. The only possibility would have been N.C. State quarterback Russell Wilson, who either won’t play at all in 2011 or for a new school in another conference.